Data, figures, and presentations
The single largest data-finding tool is the NASA-funded Global Change Master Directory. It holds more than 25,000 descriptions of Earth science data sets and services covering all aspects of earth and environmental sciences.
Global Climate
- EarthTrends. Data and graphics on many aspects of our earth system.
- Global Terrestrial
Observation System (GTOS). GTOS is a programme for observations, modelling, and analysis of
terrestrial ecosystems to support sustainable development. GTOS facilitates
access to information on terrestrial ecosystems so that researchers and policy
makers can detect and manage global and regional environmental change.
- Global Climate Observation System (GCOS). GCOS addresses the total climate system including physical, chemical and biological properties, and atmospheric, oceanic, terrestrial, hydrologic, and cryospheric components.
- IPCC. Figures and tables from the last assessment reports provide great educational materials.
- NOAA. Earth System Research laboratory - data products and visualization. Great graphs and figures on climate change issues.
- OECD
Environmental Outlook
- UNEP. Maps
and Grafics of all kinds of information on climate change, ecosystems,
poverty, and other relevant issues.
- World Resource Institute. Provides figures and maps, but often on relatively old data sets.
Data on CO2 and other greenhouse gases
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CO2 Emissions Database. CO2 capture and storage (CCS) is one of the options identified for reducing CO2 emissions generated through human activity along with other measures such as energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy. To assess the potential for CCS it is important to identify large stationary sources of CO2.
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Energy Information Administration: Many data summaries about energy production and use, and greenhouse gas emissions.
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Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center. The CDIAC is the primary climate-change data and information analysis center of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). CDIAC's data holdings include records of the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other radiatively active gases; the role of the terrestrial biosphere and the oceans in the biogeochemical cycles of greenhouse gases; emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel consumption and land-use changes; long-term climate trends; the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on vegetation; and the vulnerability of coastal areas to rising sea level. Data from other CO2 collection networks (including ice-core data) are available here.
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Mongabay - here you can find good-quality graphs on various CO2 data, also separately by country.
Energy
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Energy Information Administration: Lots of data summaries about energy use and CO2 emissions by country
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International Energy Agency. You can get statistics on any energy usage by country or region here.
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BP. Statistical review of world energy.
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The World Resources Institute provides a searchable data base on electricity use and production for all countries and regions.
Ice and snow
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Data on the Cryosphere. A webspace devoted to the current state of our cryosphere.
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National Snow and Ice data Center. The data sets listed in the table below provide information in formats that require little or no processing or programming. These may be of particular interest to teachers, students, press, the general public, or non-cryospheric researchers. The data sets are organized into groups on sea ice, frozen ground, snow cover and snow hydroplogy, glaciers and ice sheets, and arctic peoples.
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World Glacier Monitoring Service in Zuerich. The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) collects standardised observations on changes in mass, volume, area and length of glaciers with time (glacier fluctuations), as well as statistical information on the distribution of perennial surface ice in space (glacier inventories).
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NASA Goddard Space flight center. Scientific visualisations on greenhouse gases, climate and other atmospheric and space topics.
- Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services (FAGS/ICSU). Their tasks are to continuously collect observations, information and
data
related to astronomy, geodesy, geophysics and allied sciences; to
analyse, synthesize, and
draw conclusions from them; to distribute data; and to publish the
results obtained.
Animations
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NASA animated pictures about melting ice, storms, and other things.
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ESA (European Space Agency) Webcam - keep an eye on the Wilkin's iceshelf and on other parts of the world
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Earth System Science Center. Typical collapse and regrowth event of the West Antarctic ice sheet.
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Tipping points illustrated by NASA. Tipping Points High-resolution multimedia
Maps
- The World mapper. Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are
re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest, such as CO2 emissions per country, poverty, and other country-specific measures.
- Global Distribution of fire (NASA)
- UNEP: maps and Grafics of all kinds of information on climate change, ecosystems, poverty,..
Pictures
- Google Pictures. Highlights of current affairs on earth, demonstrated through google earth pictures.
- Gimp Savvy is an archive of 32,000+ royalty-free photos, organized by keyword.
- Flickr. Pictures on about anything you might be intereted in.
- World View of Global Warming. Gary Braasch Photography is @copyright material; but contact him if you are interested in any of his pictures.
- PolarView. Earth Observation for Polar Monitoring.
- BedMap: Thickness of Antarctic Ice
- Amazing graphics about global population and related topics at GAPMINDER
Mongabay - lots of graphs and pictures on various issues about rainforests.